[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 30, 2037

TUCKS UP BY 3 IN TU EAST, EP PANTHERS 2ND
The Tycobbian East Division is pretty much playing out according to the preseason script... the top three clubs are Tuckanarra, East Point and Ozarka... the Blue Jays are the halfway leader with a three-game margin over the Panthers and nine up on preseason favorite Ozarka... the High Mesa Cowboys are a very distant fourth and trail by 18 games... as things are shaping up, it looks like a two-team race between Tuckanarra and East Point.

June was the Tucks' best month of the season with a 19-7 mark, which enabled them to increase their lead over East Point to three games... the Panthers were 15-11 in the month... Tuckanarra (51-27) is seeking its fourth division flag in a row... the mighty Blue Jays have it all except for a bullpen... they are hitting .293, best in the IPA... number two in the IPA with 437 runs, bested only by Sugar Valley's 455... seventh in HRs in the TU with 94 HRs... and third in team ERA with an impressive 3.32... excellent defense, too, with a .978 FA... but in the bullpen they are very poor with a 5.11 ERA (28th)... the Blue Jays have three outstanding starters in Junior Bristow (13-5/2.63), Bobby Reid (12-3/2.96) and Jeff Buttrum (9-4/2.48)... they also have plenty of talented hitters in All-Star Lorne Evans (.302/16/42/62), Andy Preston (.348/3/30/30), All-Star John Paul (.306/21/47/44), Nicky Weill (.300/5/32/25), Pancho Villa (.305/9/33/34)... other regulars Eddie Darby (.295/6/39/45), Spade Weldon (.281/9/33/41) and Josh George (.265/7/35/42) are no slouches either at the plate... it should be a thrilling second half in the Tycobbian East with the Tucks and the Panthers going at it tooth-and-nail... the TU East winner will be one of the top seeds in the Pro Cup playoffs, along with Elnora and Sugar Valley of the Ruthlandian Union and San Alejo of the Tycobbian Union.

The East Point Panthers (48-30) can match the Blue Jays in starting pitching and scoring (399 runs-4th)... have more power with 117 HRs (3rd)... but hit only .254 (25th) and also have a lousy reliever corps (6.18 ERA-32nd)... with four very capable starters All-Star Dixie Brooks (12-5/3.04), All-Star Johnny Moore (10-5/2.76), Frank Blair (8-3/2.87) and Burton Cook (8-9/3.29), the Panthers may have a better starting rotation than Tuckanarra... All-Star Dean O'Donnell is the biggest bat in the lineup with a .310 BA, 23 HRs, 59 RBIs and 52 runs... other longballers are Karl Jankauskas (.239) with 20 HRs and 60 RBIs and Tetsu Tanaka (.253) with 11 HRs and 30 RBIs.

Preseason favorite Ozarka (42-36) had another good month in June with a 16-12 record, but they are nine games behind Tuckanarra in third place... the Naturals have the best team ERA in the Tycobbian Union with a 3.05 ERA... but are ranked only 24th in scoring with 351 runs... not much in the power department either with 56 HRs (29th-tied)... the Nats will probably have to be satisfied with third place this year... Glen Jenkins (10-7/2.26) and Leon Bernard (8-6/2.72) have been outstanding as the 1-2 starters... Zenon Metaxis (9-5/3.64) and Teddy O'Shea (8-9/4.00) have been reliable in the 3-4 slots... Gunnar Norheim is the club leader with a .318 BA and 8 HRs... Duffy Morrison is batting .310, has 7 HRs and tops the team with 48 RBIs.

The rest of the TU East will have to settle for fourth place at best... High Mesa (33-45) is currently in fourth and 18 games off the pace, but will likely finish lower in the standings... the Cowboys were only 9-17 this month... Dean Harris (8-5/3.72) is the best of a poor pitching rotation... All-Star Corbett Brooks (.248) lead the club with 22 HRs, 50 RBIs and 45 runs... Michael Page (.273) has chipped in 16 roundtrippers and 40 RBIs... and Clay Johnston (.286) has clouted 14 out of the park and driven in 42 runs.

The Hillsboro Blazers (31-47) are fifth in the standings and 20 games back... the Blazers were 12-14 this month... they have one of the worst offenses in the IPA with a .236 BA... on the hill they are just average with a 3.98 team ERA (16th)... Lee Dixon (7-11/3.24) and Ralph Quick (6-8/3.65) are the most dependable starters, while the most reliable hitters are Jurrien Bellini (.247) with 20 HRs and 50 RBIs and Philip Stafford (.277) with 11 HRs and 35 RBIs.

The Midway Wolves (30-48) are sixth and 21 games out of first... they were 11-15 this month... Midway is not a very good team... Johnny Anderson (7-10/3.84) leads the club in wins... and Carl Dreux (4-5/3.75) has the best ERA... rookie CF Yuma Chandler tops the team with a .337 BA... Floyd Campbell (.292) has the most HRs with 10... Bennett Cardwell (.288) leads in RBIs with 44... and Yancey Tanner (.298) has the team high with 51 runs.

The South Fork Stallions (29-49) are tied for eighth place with Red Bluff, 22 games behind division leader Tuckanarra... the Stallions were only 10-16 in June, while the Red Sox were just 9-17... All-Star Elton Jacoby (.324/13/58/53) is having an outstanding season... other solid contributors have been Jess Wilkerson (.300/13/47/48), Keenan O'Dwyer (.314/10/26/47) and Scotty O'Sullivan (.288/12/28/34)... the only decent pitcher has been Chris Sorensen (8-8/4.00)... the other pitchers have ERAs mainly 5.00 or higher.

It's been a long season for the Red Bluff Red Sox (29-49)... they are near the bottom in everything with a .240 BA (31st) and a 4.60 ERA (31st)... the only thing the Red Sox can do is hit homers... they are first in the TU with 121 HRs and second in the IPA... Sugar Valley leads both leagues with 125 HRs... Gene Bates is the club leader with 21 HRs and 55 RBIs, but is hitting only .243... Fran Blanchard is second with 17 HRs and 47 RBIs and is batting .277... Jesse Shaw is tops in BA with .305 and in runs with 52... he also has 12 HRs... Ike Sweetwater is a reliable hitter with a .283 BA, 10 HRs, 38 RBIs and 48 runs... top pitchers are Jimmy McMillan (9-5/3.51) and Banzuki Hasegawa (7-10/3.22).

BSC BUCS FALTER, KENWOOD NEW TU WEST LEADER
The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers' bubble might have burst... after two solid months on top of the Tycobbian West Division, the Bucs shipwrecked in June with a 9-17 mark and slipped to second place, one game behind the new leader, the Kenwood Wildcats, who posted a 15-11 record... the West is wild again with four teams knotted up in third place, just four games out of first place... preseason favorite La Claire, third pick Denton City, along with sixth choice Arlon and seventh choice Bayview are still in the hunt.

Kenwood (44-34) is a good, all-around club with a .279 BA (5th), 383 runs (10th), 90 HRs (10th-tied) and a 3.80 team ERA (11th)... the best bats are All-Star Ricky Boyer (.365/11/35/53), All-Star Harry Tashina (.300/12/51/43), Clark Chamberlain (.363/9/36/36) and Corky DiNozzo (.320/14/40/42)... top twirlers are Freddy Gooch (10-4/3.13) and Glen Murray (10-6/3.13)... Claude Watson (8-4/4.15) and Milt Cochrane (8-7/4.31) are the number three and four in the rotation... the Wildcats are blessed with a good bullpen, which has compiled a 2.71 ERA (4th)... Kenwood looks to be the class of the TU West, but is not expected to be a factor in the Pro Cup playoffs... the Wildcats are not in the same class as Tuckanarra, East Point, Blue Lake, North Hills and San Alejo.

Bay St. Clair (43-35) is hoping to get back on track after a dismal June... the Bucs still have two quality starters in John Karlsen (11-7/3.30) and Jay Callahan (9-5/3.54)... to beat Kenwood Russell McIntosh (3-3/4.66) and Mac Shaw (4-2/3.48) are going to have to step it up in the number three and four spots... Cotton Cornwall (.323/12/50/31), Milt Powers (.265/15/51/47) and Ryan Dukes (.282/15/36/41) are going to have to get some offensive help at the plate, too.

The La Claire Lynx (40-38) had a miserable 9-19 May, but regrouped in June with a 16-10 to get back in the pennant chase... they are tied for third with Denton City, Bayview and Arlon, trailing by just four games... the Lynx are playing like an average team, not a pennant contender so far... they are batting .267 (10th), ranked 14th in scoring runs with 372, have hit 82 homers (17th) and have posted a pretty fair 3.86 ERA (13th)... Tony Rossi (8-6/3.73) and Glenn Smith (5-5/3.51) lead the starters, while Terry Baird (5-7/2.36/12 saves) is the best in the bullpen... the batters are only mildly productive, paced by Billy Holland (.283/13/46/44), who is the club leader in homers, RBIs and runs... the only other reliable hitter is Ernie Pryor with a .293 BA, 12 HRs, 37 RBIs and 33 runs.

The Denton City Redbirds (40-38) won 90 games last year and ran a very close second to division winner Chicopee... good things were expected this year... they started off with a good April, but slumped to 11-17 in May, but picked it back up in June with a 15-11 mark to get back in contention... the Redbirds have a potent attack with a .272 BA (7th), 396 runs (5th), 98 HRs (6th) and a pretty fair 3.95 team ERA (15th)... All-Star Felton Welch has been awesome with 70 RBIs, second in the IPA to Sugar Valley's Bobby Gamble, who has 76 in the Ruthlandian Union... Welch is batting .318 with 16 HRs... three other regulars in the lineup are batting over .300: Russ Foster .346 with 8 HRs, 27 RBIs and 43 runs... Sam Carson .305 with 16 HRs, 42 RBIs and 37 runs... and Sammy Thornton .302 with 3 HRs, 24 RBIs and 43 runs... Denton City has capable starters in Troy McIntosh (8-6/3.11), Francisco Salcido (8-9/3.59), Denny Mills (5-4/3.94) and Kevin Blevins (4-7/2.68), but needs some help in the bullpen,which has a 4.10 ERA (22nd)... the Redbirds appear to be one of the stronger teams in the division and could be a serious challenger once again this year.

The Bayview Vikings (40-38) really got hot in June with an 18-8 record to climb up from seventh to a tie for third... the Viks have three solid starters in All-Star Vance Codsworth (12-5/2.39), Christy Kane (10-9/3.32) and Kris Melgaard (6-3/3.44)... and three solid hitters in All-Star Jerry Culpepper (.293 BA), the IPA home-run king with 25 roundtrippers, 52 RBIs and 49 runs, Roy Ricks (.308 BA) with 13 HRs, 38 RBIs and 47 runs and Derek Jorstad (.262 BA) with 9 HRs, 32 RBIs and 49 runs... if these guys get some help, Bayview could be a serious challenger.

The Arlon Champions (40-38) posted a 14-12 record in June and stayed alive in the pennant run... the Champs have little in the way of offense with a .248 BA (29th), 53 HRs (31st), 322 runs (31st), but do have some pitching with a 3.65 ERA (9th)... the starting foursome are adequate, led by Lanny Gray (8-7/2.59), Pat Stuyvesant (8-5/3.96), Emil Nowak (9-7/4.18) and Frankie Gautier (7-8/4.20)... the relievers are better-than-average with a 3.34 ERA (10th)... the light-hitting Champions are led by Mark Cameron (.276), who tops the team with 10 HRs and 49 RBIs... Todd Benson is the club leader with a .283 BA, while Charley Hastings (.256) and Roland Duvernet (.236) top the team with 41 runs each... a lack of offense will keep Arlon in the second divison this year.

The Rolling Hills Reds (33-44) are 10 games behind Kenwood in seventh place... picked for fourth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll, the Reds haven't lived up to the billing... they will likely be hard put to stay out of the division basement... they did get pitching ace Jakob Wagner back... he has been out 11 months with an elbow injury... Wagner led the team with a 15-8 mark and a 3.03 ERA in 2036 when he was injured last August... this year's prime pitchers have been Mike Daniels (11-7/3.68) and Maury Cantrell (6-2/3.24).... Rolling Hills' best bats have been Dino Manale (.336/5/26/55), All-Star Buffy Kowalczyk (.323/7/44/34) and Brian Davis (.304/7/27/38).

After winning the TU West the last three years in a row with great firepower, the Chicopee Braves (32-46) have dropped off into oblivion... last year the Braves batted .278 (2nd), hit 203 HRs (5th) and scored 863 runs (2nd)... but not this year... Chicopee is hitting only .255 (22nd) with 333 runs (30th) and 81 HRs (18th-tied)... after two terrible months, things have gotten a little better of late... the Braves broke even in June with a 13-13 mark, but are 12 games behind in the pennant race... part of the downfall was the loss of slugger Charley Kota, last year's TU Golden Bat winner... he was lost after 26 games in early May with a shoulder injury and won't be back until August... Kota was batting .379 at the time of the injury with 6 HRs and 17 RBIs... no one has picked up the slack... in fact everybody is having an off-year so far with the bats... a .309 career batter, Kurt Gustavsen, is the club leader with a .285 BA, 12 HRs and 49 RBIs... Todd Goodwin, .293 lifetime BA, is batting only .257 with 7 HRs and 21 RBIs... he leads the team with 43 runs... and Alfredo Cobos, a .310 batter in his career, has dipped to .276 this season... Cobos has 9 HRs, 35 RBIs and 34 runs... pitching is off, too... Byron Wilson 13-10 last year is 0-5 this year and out of the starting rotation... ditto for Ryan Ledbetter 17-14 last year and 6-11 this year... 20-game winner Heyoka Chaska is only 4-11 this year with a 3.88 ERA, but still is the team's ace... Judd Hampton has been the only good starter this year with a 9-3 mark and a 3.35 ERA... Chicopee might muster up enough offense to move up a few spots in the standings... they have too much talent to remain at the bottom.